Houses
Description A House is a grouping of several Families under a single political, religious or social banner. Examples include noble clans like the sprawling bloodlines of the 'Dune' series or "Game of Thrones".The basic principle is that several Families will band together to pool their economic & military might, find safety in numbers, and/or increase their political clout by speaking with one unified voice. Within the Western Realms, these Houses can wield immense power & in some cases become de-facto rulers of whole areas. While this is less common in the regions surrounding Drakenwood, northwards into the nations of Valena & in particular Aerdy this increasingly this becomes a key factor in government. Membership The first thing to consider is that Houses are made up of of entire Families. Should you wish to join a House, the Head of your Family must petition the Head of the House you wish to join & request to be accepted into it. The Head of that House may accept the request, refuse it or even require that you perform some tasks prior to acceptance & that is entirely up to them! If you are successful, your Family will be assigned a status within that House based upon its size & relative importance. The status your Family holds within a House can be taken as a guide to your own relative worth within it. Families may be designated as Major or Minor & in addition the Family of the Head of the House will be known as the Prime Family. These ranks may fluctuate at the whim of the Head of the House & as such it is expected that members of all Families will support more senior or influential Families, jostle for position & generally get up to all manner of intrigues! Alternatively you can form a new House. The Head of your Family must 'mail houses' with your request. Please see 'help new-houses' for details of what you must submit with your request. Only Heroes can form Houses so the Family Head must be Level 25 or higher. Please note that starting a whole new House is a major undertaking & requires considerable effort! If you wish to leave your House, you can only do so if the Head of your Family withdraws your entire Family from the House or if you break your ties with your Family & set up a brand new one! Naturally you would keep your blood ties (ie who your parents, siblings etc are), but will have to choose a brand new Family name. Please see 'help families' for more details of what this entails. It is important to realise though that should a Family choose to leave a House then that family may never again rejoin that same House. Houses are an important part of the political tapestry of Elephant Mud, so you should think very carefully before deciding on your alliegences. But a strong House, working together, has the potential to become an extremely potent force & shape the future of the Realms! Known Houses, their Heads & Deputies Alluminas: (H) 'Brax DeRandy, 'Darklight: Haarfrost: (H) 'Eladriell Winterwind, '(D) Hades Hellfire. Bloodstone: (H) 'Hawksley Blackthorn, 'Harlequin: Scelus: Valderi: (H) 'Blitzkrieg Silversnow, '(D) Rishnak Bloodmoon. '''Vindicta: (H) '''Valyn Stahlberg, __NOEDITSECTION__ __NONEWSECTIONLINK__